The field of the invention is ball bearing slides and the invention relates more particularly to precision ball bearings slide mechanisms of the type which permit the lateral removal of the inner slide member from the body of the slide so that the object supported by the slide may be removed from its mount and readily reinserted therein.
One method of removing the supported object is by lifting the object away from the inner slide member after the slide member has been extended. Pull-out, front-disconnect features are also known which utilize a lever or other release device which allows the inner member to be disconnected from the remainder of the slide assembly. One such locking and releasing feature is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,299. In this device, a pair of spring loaded arms are supported by the inner member and extend outwardly to contact the intermediate member and hold it in a fixed position with respect to the intermediate member. The intermediate member is locked to the outer member by a spring loaded catch which projects into a hole in the outer member. Such construction is relatively expensive to fabricate and has not found wide acceptance.
It is important that the device be both easy to operate and that it not add unduly to the cost of the slide.